CA Judge Strikes Down Teacher Tenure in Vergara Case

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has struck down teacher tenure as unconstitutional, ruling in the highly-anticipated Vergarav. California case that such protections “disproportionately affect poor and/or minority students.” Judge Rolf Treu found that laws granting tenure after two years, prioritizing seniority in layoffs, and making it difficult to fire teachers violate state constitutional guarantees of adequate public education.

In the 16-page ruling, Judge Treu cited Brown v. Board of Education–the celebrated anti-segregation case that just celebrated its 60th anniversary–and applied its principles to evaluating the quality of education.

As Larry Sand noted in April at Breitbart News, it will now be “up to each school district to come up with its own policies on tenure and seniority.” The potential implications of Judge Treu’s ruling are nationwide in scope.

The Vergara decision is a major setback for teacher unions, which have resisted changes to tenure, as well as other school reforms. Similar lawsuits in other states could begin to open the floodgates to reform proposals.